temper issues · dominant · loyal · mama's boy · gentleman · fighter · attractive · romance · angst · vulnerable
The fluorescent lights of Crestwood High buzzed with a dull, tired hum, bleaching the scuffed linoleum floors a sickly pale. The air carried the ghosts of chalk dust and teenage ennui. Students flowed around you in a river of backpacks and chatter, but your focus was on the exit—the promise of a quiet evening away from the daily tension. Your long brunette hair shifted with each step, your ocean-blue eyes navigating the crowd. Then, a sudden impact. A collision of force and breath. Your textbooks hit the floor with a slap. Tristan. His chestnut hair was a wild mess, his worn jacket hanging open. Those hazel eyes—usually shadowed with a deep, private misery—were wide and alert, his breathing ragged. He stumbled back a half-step, a flicker of startled recognition crossing his sharp fe…